300 Series Shinkansen (HDR Photo)

This bullet train was designed with one purpose in mind: to get from Tokyo to Osaka as quickly as possible – well of course there is the spotless safety record and awesome comfort – but the demand for train services had grown hugely in the early years of the shinkansen. This series of shinkansen was the 4th version of this super fast train since they were first introduced in 1964, just in time for the Tokyo Olypmics held that year.

300 Series Shinkansen
「Shinkansen 300 kei, 新幹線300系」

As reported by Asahi Shimbun in the article End of the line nears for ‘300 Series’ bullet trains, this shinkansen had its last run as the Nozomi 329 service leaving Tokyo at 10:47AM on March 16, 2012 and terminating at Shin-Osaka. There are lots of train geeks in Japan, and they were quick to get tickets for this final ride. Tickets went on sale 1 month before the last service, and all 1,300+ seats sold out within 60 seconds.

The 300 Series Shinkansen can now only be seen in museums, such as the SCMaglev and Railway Park in Nagoya.

If you’re traveling to Japan, riding the shinkansen is a great way to see the country – quickly! Be sure to check out: is the JR Pass worth it?